I am a “Princess”, and proud to be!

For those who know me, you know what being a princess means to me and how passionate I am about what I believe to be the true meaning of a princess. And so when people tell me how difficult and frustrating their daughter is becoming, and then say “oh she’s acting like such a princess!”, I cringe! I start fuming inside! At what point in time did being “a Princess” turn into being a spoiled, obnoxious little rich daddy’s girl? Just to name a few adjectives I’ve heard people use…

To me, being a princess is about caring for everyone, being polite and elegant, being admired by others for her honesty and poise, being a princess is about pursuing your dreams and doing what you truly believe in. I look at “actual” princesses and by that I mean royal, monarchy princesses such a Lady Diana, Kate, Caroline and Stephanie of Monaco, and so much more… forgive me as I am not a history buff, but I’m seriously thinking of researching them more profoundly! But from what I do know, they were and are great role models for girls! And of course the Disney Princesses… so much to say about them! That alone could be (and will be!) a whole other blog… but allow me just a few comments…

Cinderella only wanted to get away for a night out and enjoy a nice dress, new shoes and dance the night away… tell me no girl ever wanted a night out to forget her day… Belle, who loved to read, did not want anything to do with the most popular (and obnoxious) guy of the village, but instead traded her freedom to save her father, and looked beyond the obvious to find kindness in a beast… Tiana is a focused young lady… she has a goal in mind: opening a restaurant. And nothing will stand in her way of reaching her dream! I could go on and on about all (well most!) of the Disney Princesses and tell you how empowering they are for young girls!

Yet society twists everything they hear and see and make it all about poufy dresses, tiaras and prince charming, when in fact, it’s hardly ever about that. I will say it usually ends with that yes… BUT, the ultimate goal, for most of these princesses, was NOT about getting the prince. And these princesses ALWAYS acted with kindness, politeness, elegance (to a certain degree), and selflessness…. So how in the world did acting like a princess become a selfish, disrespectful behavior I ask? To me, being a Princess is being Polite, Respectful, Independent, Natural, Caring, Elegant, Selfless and Smart (yes, that spells PRINCESS!). And that is what I truly believe a princess IS and should be!

And if instead of downgrading what princesses appear to be, we – as parents- would simply encourage the positive behaviors of a princess, then more girls would grow up with these very important values. Because, generally speaking, little girls LOVE princesses! So if you emphasize all these great things about them, then you’re actually empowering your little one to develop these strong values that will indeed shape her in becoming a wonderful adult… a wonderful PRINCESS! And there is absolutely NOTHING wrong with being a TRUE PRINCESS! So next time you’re unhappy with your daughter’s behavior, please… do NOT tell her to stop acting like a Princess! She might be acting like a brat or a diva, or simply behaving badly, but she is NOT acting like a Princess. And if by the odd chance she still likes princesses (and we always have a little place in our heart for princesses no matter how old we are…) maybe saying that her favorite princess would never act in such a way, might just trigger some reflections…

My name is Princess Stephanie, and I AM A PRINCESS! And I am on a mission to empower young girls to be the TRUE princess they can be and reach their full potential in life! Please share this if you agree.